


"prepare the diving bell..."

by wrestlecore



Series: Excerpts from a Playlist [1]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: ???? I think??, Also! I know nuckelavee's from scottish mythos however, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Elemental Magic, Gen, HOWEVER my hands had other plans, Light Angst, Sorcerer AU, Violence, i could not find an irish winter myth, i wrote this before finn went back to nxt n before he shaved his head, idk if it's graphic i couldn't figure it out, kinda inspired by castlevania, they were supposed to be FUCKING MEMES, this WAS supposed to be me fucking around w/humor n dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-12 04:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20983550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrestlecore/pseuds/wrestlecore
Summary: It's time to take this low againI sink into myself, lowNo need for farewellI know you always understand





	"prepare the diving bell..."

**Author's Note:**

> there is a bit of a description of finn dry heaving near the end so if you don't like that, it starts at "Finn?' and ends at 'The mage threw back his head..'

_"70 boxes of ale on the wall, 70 boxes of ale. Take one down, pass it around, 69 boxes of ale on the wall." _

Finn put a hand to his forehead, sighing, the sound of the snow crunching ceasing under him as he stopped walking. "Balor…" He groaned. The mage had grown tired of the demon’s jabbering, has been since 200.

_“You made the deal, this is one of the costs of being my host, live with it.”_ They huffed, and Finn just shook his head, beginning to trek through the snow again, his coat whipping in the wind, and his nose felt as hard as ice. “Do you know where we are, again?”

“The region of Hekkora. It’s not as cold as Nemori, but fuck, there’s so much snow.” Finn gripped his staff tightly, plunging it deep into the ground as it began to get steeper. 

_“Do you even have a plan for what we are doing? Or where we are going?”_

“I’m making this up as I go, Balor, give me a break. And no, but it has to be somewhere… somewhere far from people.” Finn let out a sigh, his breath escaping as a white puff. “I’m used to the ice and moors, not fucking snow covered mountains.”

_“See, if we still had the map…”_ Balor started, but Finn cut him off.

“No, no, no! We are not starting this again! You can’t read and maps confuse the shit out of me, end of story!” The sorcerer yelled.

Finn felt Balor about to snark but the demon kept quiet instead, and that made Finn uneasy. Normally Balor took the piss out of his host mage, anytime and anyplace, but now he was unnaturally quiet.

Come to think of it, the mage thought, the forest was unusually quiet. Even in winters, the sounds of scampering animals in the undergrowth were clear to him, and yet…

He stopped, and whispered, “Balor?” The demon didn’t respond, and that unsettled Finn, the feeling that something was wrong gnawing at him. 

_“Danger! Danger! Danger!”_ A harsh screech erupted from Balor as Finn made out the sound of a growl coming from the underbrush. Both of his hands were on his staff, a tight grip on it as the mage scanned his surroundings. 

The moon reflected off the snow, the trees looking almost silver in the moonlight. Everything was deathly quiet, but Finn felt the presence of a creature somewhere circling him. The mage felt as if his feet were frozen to the ground.

His eyes shifted quickly from side to side as he realized it could attack from behind, but he couldn’t tell if the creature was behind him. Balor became silent, which didn’t surprise Finn, they never exactly stayed for this part.

The crunching of snow to the leftof him captured Finn’s attention, heavy steps were coming closer and closer. The air became foul, causing Finn to cover his nose and mouth area, as he watched the trees and their branches beginning to wither.

Finn could make out one large red eye, and he felt his breath hitch in his throat. “Oh, shit.” He whispered. A roar was emitted from the darkness as the creature began to charge at him, the mage plunging the end of his staff down into the snow, a wall of ice shooting up to shield himself.

He rolled out of the way when it broke through the ice like glass, narrowly missing its feet, his staff rolling out of his grip. “No!” Finn cried, scampering to get it, only to be stopped by a large mass of flesh. The first thing he saw were hooves, hooves that were connected to legs without skin. Arms of skinless flesh reached down into the snow, from the body of a horse.

Finn’s eyes trailed upward as he took in the sight of the creature. There was no trace of skin on it, and the human looked as if it was fused to the horse. It was tall, taller than he was, taller than anything he’d ever seen. And it gazed down at him, as if he was some kind of maggot. The horse’s singular eye glared at him with evil glee, as if it would enjoy tearing him apart. Finn let out a white puff of air and backed away from it as he forced himself to get a grip on his nerves, eyes roaming the creature for any type of weakness. 

The creature looked like it was daring for Finn to make the first move, but it also looked as if it wanted to attack first. The mage narrowed his eyes, looking around and forming a plan.

_Okay, let’s piss it off._

“Come on, you fucking asshole!” Finn yelled, impulsiveness kicking in as he raised his arms, spikes of ice shooting up in hopes of threatening it. He could see the mouth of the creature let out a roar as its hooves thudded against the snow, the foul air becoming stronger. 

Finn barely leapt out of the way, coughing as he felt shards of ice pelting his coat. The nuckelavee let out a ghoulish cackle, its human head turning to look at him, a grin spread on its face.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit!_

It let out a low growl, rounding back to face the mage. A shiver went down his spine as Finn looked at the furious red eye, furious that he wasn’t easy prey. Finn could feel a smirk growing on his face as he took off, sprinting into the trees behind him. 

The icy wind dashed past him as he ran, furious howls and thundering hooves were behind him. Finn felt as if he was on air, occasional puffs of white escaping his lips. He knew he couldn’t outrun the creature behind him, and he wouldn’t last a long run, but Finn realized that he didn’t have to stay human.

Shifting was a delicate task, Balor had told him. While it sounded easy enough, pulling it off could be hard. Animals and their habits had to be observed carefully, their movements, their mindsets. Each animal was different, even members of the same species, but Finn studied groups of animals for the longest time.

It felt almost freeing, as he felt his body beginning to shift. Bones cracked and rearranged, he could see his fingers meshing into paws. Finn could feel his clothes melting and changing into thick fur, he gave a grunt of pain as his face began to change. The process was always painful, but it never mattered to Finn. The feeling of shifting was electric, whether changing into a small or large animal.

Finn felt himself let out a few strong barks as he dashed through the woods as he felt his change complete, his four legs hitting the cold snow. Where his human self failed, his dog shift would pick up the slack. He could hear the creature still giving chase, and the sorcerer made sure he stayed in its sight. 

He strained his ears to hear running water, a creek or stream, it didn’t matter as long as it was freshwater. Finn could hear the snapping of teeth behind him as the chase continued. 

_Come on, come on!_

The sorcerer snarled in frustration, hearing the nuckelavee slowing down. Fuck, he thought. It would get bored of chasing him soon, and it would just find the sorcerer again, it was better to get rid of it now. Finn made a u-turn around a tree, pouncing at the demon and snapping his jaws. He felt his teeth sinking into the flesh of its arm, he heard a screech of pain as he dashed a few feet away from it.

_"What are you doing?!"_ Balor yelled at him, but Finn ignored them as he let out a snarl, hackles raised and ears flattened as he kept an eye on the creature.

The nuckelavee made no movement, seemingly checking its arm, but it left itself distracted and exposed. That was the opening Finn needed, and he began to dash at it, teeth bared and jaws opening slightly. 

What he didn’t count on, however, was a harsh smacking sound and the feeling of rushing air. Finn’s eyes widened as he saw his paws unfurl back into fingers and hands, his heavy fur lightening into his old coat and hood. He felt his back hitting a tree and a grunt of surprise escaped his lips.

“Fucking shit!” He screamed as he felt the tree shake, snow suddenly falling on top of him. "That's cold, that's cold!" Finn could feel a dark presence stirring, Balor was finally not sitting out of this one.

_"Do you require assistance?"_ The sound of Balor's voice echoed through him, and Finn raised himself up, leaning against the tree. He swung a fist into the air, ice forming a protective dome around him.

"Now you're here? It bitchslapped me out of my dog shift and now you're here?!" Finn yelled, the creature pounding on the ice. The sorcerer quickly outstretched his hand, a spike forming and jutting out, impaling the nuckelavee’s bitten arm.

A roar of pain echoed as it slid its arm out of the spike, the nuckelavee almost cradling it, an expression that resembled rage on its face.

_“Calm down-”_

“I’m fucking calm! Not like there’s some large creature trying to kill me!” Finn yelled, slamming his hand down on his barrier, creating more spikes out of the ice, spreading them out for more protection. He could see the ice thinning out, as he was pushing the ice out to create spikes. “By the way! How was your fucking nap?”

_“Stop screaming.”_ Balor said patiently, but Finn could feel that patience wearing extremely thin. Maybe now was not the time to test the demon.

The nuckelavee paced around the barrier, its impaled arm slung on its horse body, peering at any weak spots.

_“You know what you have to do.”_

“Absolutely not!”

_“Finn-”_

“I won’t give you control, Balor!”

A loud crack echoed as Finn saw a hand burst through the barrier, the nuckelavee had punched under a spike as Finn bickered with the demon. The sorcerer quickly directed ice to surround the hand and rebuild the ice, but the creature tried to yank its hand away, the ice holding tightly.Finn pulled back the spikes, re-enforcing his barrier, but the nuckelavee began to bang on the ice. He felt a small rush of sleepiness, and the sorcerer realized that he wouldn’t be able to hold out for longer. Using magic constantly without days of sleep was dangerous, and Finn could feel that he was pushing his limits. 

_“Finn, I need you to listen to me, do what I say.”_ Balor tried once more, their voice insistent.

The sorcerer finally relented, taking a deep breath. “What do you want me to do?”

_“Drop the barrier.”_ Finn opened his mouth to protest, but the demon beat him to it. _“Shatter the barrier and fling the shards at it, I won’t have you be defenseless.”_

The mage stepped back, pulling his hood up and raising his arms above himself. He began to clench his hands, pulling on the magic keeping the barrier together, almost as if he was untangling a web of string.The nuckelavee was pulling harder, and Finn closed his eyes, attempting to block out everything there was in the world. While it felt weaker than most structures, it still felt tricky pulling the magic apart

“Come on, come on.” He muttered, nails digging into the palms of his hands. A sudden loud crack was heard, Finn was unsure if he did that or the creature had, but he focused on the cracked ice. He forced it to grow wider, the strings becoming limp and cut, and Finn then felt the barrier shatter.

Pieces of various sizes fell around him, some pelting his coat. The sorcerer snapped his eyes open as the pull of barrier faded. Finn then hurled chunks at the nuckelavee, who was shielding its eye with its uninjured hand. While it was distracted, Finn sprayed a flurry of ice at its face, turning back and fleeing. 

“Balor?! Got any ideas on how to kill it?!” Finn called out, sprinting as fast as he could. But he was tired, when was the last time he slept? The sorcerer shook his head, his life was on the line for gods’ sake! Sleep wasn’t as important as living!

_“Running water! Running water is one of its weaknesses!”_

“But will that fucking kill it? And it’s winter! The rivers are fucking frozen!” He screamed at the demon, flinching when a chunk of earth sailed past him and crashed next to him. Finn stumbled backwards as a tremor shook the ground, cursing as he latched onto a tree for balance.

Sharp pain exploded from his right shoulder, feeling the very tips of a clawed hand hook themselves into his shoulder, then he felt himself being hoisted in the air. Finn felt a screech of pain ripping from his mouth, though he wasn’t sure if he, Balor or both of them let it out.The sorcerer felt himself being flung into a tree, teeth gritted in pain as he felt the back of his head hit the bark, a yelp emitting from him and falling into the cold snow below.

“Holy fuck.” He gasped out, vision spinning as he clutched at his head. Finn then quickly touched his shoulder, wincing at the feeling of torn clothes and blood.

_“Finn? Are you alright?”_ Balor sounded as if they were panicked, which was strange to Finn as the demon often kept a hold on their emotions.

Finn felt his head shake, his vision was spinning and he was leaking blood. How was that okay? A clearing, Finn could see that he was in a clearing. Shit, his shoulder hurt and the back of his head stung.

He didn't get a chance to recover as Finn felt a hand lifting him into the air by his neck. The hold was tight, his breaths were shallow as he thrashed around and clawed at the hand. The nuckalevee’s human head was sizing him up, a malicious glint in its eyes. The air was foul as Finn found himself to be the closest that he’s ever been to the demon. He let out heaving coughs as he tried to escape its hold, gasping out in pain as its hand tightened its grip.

Black spots danced in his vision, his thrashing slowing down, and Finn felt his eyes beginning to droop. 

So this is how he would meet his end, body dangling in the air while a demon crushes his throat? Fitting.

He knew he wasn’t invincible, magic or no magic, demon deal or no demon deal. Death was always inevitable. 

Finn felt his conscious being shoved back, Balor’s dark presence overtaking as the sorcerer felt his arm aim at the horse’s eye, heat pulsing through him. Fire was something Finn was never good at before Balor came, but with the demon’s guidance along with them strengthening his magic, he was adequate at it.

A blaze of hot purple fire exploded from his hand, striking the eye directly, causing the nuckalevee to screech in pain and drop Balor. The mage landed with a thud, a hiss escaping their mouth as pain flared in their right leg. Finn felt Balor shake as they stood, one hand rubbing at their neck as the other hand held a fireball.

The nuckalevee continued to thrash around in pain as Balor flung the ball of fire in the air, hitting part of a tree above it, and igniting it. 

"Balor, you missed!"

The demon didn't respond as a stream of fire erupted from their hands, aimed at the creature, backing it into the tree Balor had fired at earlier. Finn felt Balor back away, fire still spewing at the nuckalevee A crack was heard as the tree collapsed on it, fire spreading to its leaves, the large creature almost screaming in pain. Spikes of ice erupted from the earth as the caged the creature, aggravating it even more.

Balor shook as they formed an icicle, making its end sharp enough to pierce. Their chest heaved with shaking breaths, inching closer to the smell of searing flesh, screeching echoing throughout the clearing. The nuckalevee looked at them with murderous rage, and Finn felt Balor give his own glare before feeling the pull of magic on the icicle.

A war cry spilled from their mouth as the icicle was raised into the air, Balor bringing it down on the horse eye first, a squishing sound coming from it as the demon created another spike, driving it into the human head quickly. Its mouth gaped open as red eyes became lifeless, black blood running down the wound

_“It’s over.”_ Balor breathed, releasing their hold over Finn’s body. The sorcerer felt a rush of pain and tiredness as he crumpled, hand on his shoulder.

“Fuck.” He whispered, shivering as he felt the icy wind blowing past him. He felt his chest heaving as he began to dry heave into the snow, feeling sick. 

Tears blurred his vision as the sound of retching escaped from his mouth, his tongue dangling out and his throat feeling as if it was constricting, spit dangling from his lips. 

_“Finn?”_

The mage threw back his head to look at the sky, the smell and sound of crackling fire making itself present to him. Finn wiped his mouth with his sleeve, blinking as he focused on the moon. “I-” He started. “I’m okay Balor.”

No he wasn’t.

_“You are not.”_ Of course, how could he forget that Balor is apart of him, and that they knew his thoughts. _“We need a safe place to stay for the night. You’re hurt and tired, who knows what else we’ll make easy prey for?”_

The demon had a point, one he couldn’t argue with. Finn shivered as he began to trek up the snow, as leading the now dead creature caused him to lose ground. He could feel the wind whipping past him, as clouds began to cover the clear sky. “B-blizzard?” He muttered, hugging himself as his pace quickened. 

The snow would be hard to move through during the storm, and the thought had Finn quickening his pace. 

_Shelter, shelter, shelter?_

The sorcerer soon stumbled, falling into the snow as he hissed in pain. He turned his head to look at what he tripped over, seeing an abandoned den. _“Make the den a bit bigger if you can, treat your wound in there.”_

“I have… a better idea.” Finn mustered as his hand glowed a faint purple, grasping his shoulder and hissing as he felt the heat on his skin. He held on for a few seconds before letting go quickly, teeth gritted as he looked at the red but closed wound.

_"Risky, but effective.”_ Balor murmured, causing Finn to chuckle a bit. _“Are you able to shift? We need to get into that den.”_

“Sure, yeah, I can.” Finn felt his bones beginning to rearrange, hearing them crunch as he saw the trees becoming longer. He moved towards the den slowly, almost pressed to the ground as the snow began to fall, slowly at first.

The den was small but digging a bit of it out made it comfortable, and it was warm, a perfect place to wait out the storm. Finn was tired and sore, he wanted to sleep for years, just curled up in the abandoned den.

_“Rest well Finn, you need sleep.”_

For the first time in years, Finn felt safe. Safe on a mountain while a blizzard raged on above him, safe where no one could find him. 

And that was okay.

As long as no one could find him.

**Author's Note:**

> i have returned! with another finn fic bc i am PREDICTABLE! also this is officially my longest fic n it took me only 3 months to get to 3000 words but that's fucking okay! anyway i'm wrestlecore on tumblr, yell at me about this i guess?


End file.
